THE ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY
OF SALAMINIUS HERMIAS SOZOMENUS
BOOK VIII

CHAP. I. -- SUCCESSORS OF THEODOSIUS THE GREAT. RUFINUS, THE PRAETORIAN PREFECT,
IS SLAIN. THE CHIEF PRIESTS OF THE PRINCIPAL CITIES. DIFFERENCES AMONG THE
HERETICS. ACCOUNT OF SISINIUS, BISHOP OF THE NOVATIANS.

SUCH was the death of Theodosius, who had contributed so efficiently to the
aggrandizement of the Church. (1) He expired in the sixtieth year of his age,
and the sixteenth of his reign. He left his two sons as his successors. Arcadius,
the elder, reigned in the East, and Honorius in the West. They both held the
same religious sentiments as their father.

Damasus was dead; and at this period Siricius was the leader of the church
of Rome; Nectarius, of the church in Constantinople; Theophilus, over the church
of Alexandria; Flavian, over the church of Antioch; and John, over that of
Jerusalem. Armenia and the Eastern provinces were at this time overrun by the
barbarian Huns. (2) Rufinus, prefect of the East, was suspected of having clandestinely
invited them to devastate the Roman territories, in furtherance of his own
ambitious designs; for he was said to aspire to tyranny. For this reason, he
was soon after slain; for, on the return of the troops from the conquest of
Eugenius, the Emperor Arcadius, according to custom, went forth from Constantinople
to meet them; and the soldiers took this opportunity to massacre Rufinus. These
circumstances tended greatly to the extension of religion. The emperors attributed
to the piety of their father, the ease with which the tyrant had been vanquished,
and the plot of Rufinus to gain their government arrested; and they readily
confirmed all the laws which had been enacted by their predecessors in favor
of the churches, and bestowed their own gifts in addition. Their subjects profited
by their example, so that even the pagans were converted without difficulty
to Christianity, and the heretics united themselves to the Catholic Church.

Owing to the disputes which had arisen among the Arians and Eunomians, and
to which I have already alluded, these heretics daily diminished in number.
Many of them, in reflecting upon the diversity of sentiments which prevailed
among those of their own persuasion, judged that the truth of God could not
be present with them, and went over to those who held the same faith as the
emperors.

The interests
of the Macedonians of Constantinople were materially affected by their possessing
no bishop
in that juncture; for, ever since they had been
deprived of their churches by Eudoxius, under the reign of Constantius, they
had been governed only by presbyters, and remained so until the next reign.
The Novatians, on the other hand, although they had been agitated by the controversy
concerning the Passover, which was an innovation made by Sabbatius, yet the
most of them remained in quiet possession of their churches, and had not been
molested by any of the punishments or laws enacted against other heretics,
because they maintained that the Three Persons of the Trinity are of the same
substance. The virtue of their leaders also tended greatly to the maintenance
of concord among them. After the presidency of Agelius they were governed by
Marcian, a good man; and on his decease, (3) a little while before the time
now under consideration, the bishopric devolved upon Sisinius, (4) a very eloquent
man, well versed in the doctrines of philosophy and of the Holy Scriptures,
and so expert in disputation that even Eunomius, who was well approved in this
art and effective in this work, often refused to hold debates with him. His
course of life was prudent and above the reach of calumny; yet he indulged
in luxury, and even in superfluities; so that those who knew him not were incredulous
as to whether he could remain temperate in the midst of so much abundance.
His manners were gracious and suave in assemblies, and on this account he was
esteemed by the bishops of the Catholic Church, by the rulers, and by the learned.
His jests were replete with good nature, and he could bear ridicule without
manifesting the least resentment. He was very prompt and witty in his rejoinders.
Being once asked wherefore, as he was bishop, he bathed twice daily, he replied, "Because
I do not bathe thrice." On another occasion, being ridiculed by a member
of the Catholic Church because he dressed in white, he asked where it was commanded
that he should dress in black; and, as the other hesitated for a reply, he
continued, "You can give no argument in support of your position; but
I refer you to Solomon, the wisest of men, who says, 'Let your garments be
always white.' Moreover Christ is described in the Gospel as having appeared
in white, and Moses and Elias manifester themselves to the apostles in robes
of white." It appears to me that the following reply was also very ingenious.
Leontius, bishop of Ancyra, in Galatia, settled in Constantinople after he
had deprived the Novatians in his province of their churches. Sisinius went
to him to request that the churches might be restored; but far from yielding
compliance, he reviled the Novatians, and said that they were not worthy of
holding churches, because, by abolishing the observance of penance, they intercepted
the philanthropy of God. To this Sisinius replied, "No one does penance
as I do." Leontius asked him in what way he did penance. "In coming
to see you," retorted Sisinius. Many other witty speeches are attributed
to him, and he is even said to have written several works with some elegance.
But his discourses obtained greater applause than his writings, since he was
best at declamation, and was capable of attracting the hearer by his voice
and look and pleasing countenance. This brief description may serve as a proof
of the disposition and mode of life of this great man.

CHAP. II. -- EDUCATION, TRAINING, CONDUCT, AND WISDOM OF THE GREAT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM;
HIS PROMOTION TO THE SEE; THEOPHILUS, BISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA, BECOMES HIS CONFIRMED
OPPONENT.

NECTARIUS
died about this period, (1) and lengthened debates were held on the ordination
of a successor.
They
all voted for different individuals, and
it seemed impossible for all to unite on one, and the time passed heavily.
There was, however, at Antioch on the Orontes, a certain presbyter named John,
a man of noble birth and of exemplary life, and possessed of such wonderful
powers of eloquence and persuasion that he was declared by the sophist, Libanius
the Syrian, to surpass all the orators of the age. When this sophist was on
his death-bed he was asked by his friends who should take his place. "It
would have been John," replied he, "had not the Christians taken
him from us." Many of those who heard the discourses of John in the church
were thereby excited to the love of, virtue and to the reception of his own
religious sentiments. (2) For by living a divine life he imparted zeal from
his own virtues to his hearers. He produced convictions similar to his own,
because he did not enforce them by rhetorical art and strength, but expounded
the sacred books with truth and sincerity. For a word which is ornamented by
deeds customarily shows itself as worthy of belief; but without these the speaker
appears as an impostor and a traitor to his own words, even though he teach
earnestly. Approbation in both regards was due to John. He devoted himself
to a prudent course of life and to a severe public career, while he also used
a clear diction, united with brilliance in speech.

His natural abilities were excellent, and he improved them by studying under
the best masters. He learned rhetoric from Libanius, and philosophy from Andragathius.
When it was expected that he would embrace the legal profession and take part
in the career of an advocate, he determined to exercise himself in the sacred
books and to practice philosophy according to the law of the Church. He had
as teachers of this philosophy, Carterius and Diodorus, two celebrated presidents
of ascetic institutions. Diodorus was afterwards the governor of the church
of Tarsus, and, I have been informed, left many books of his own writings in
which he explained the significance of the sacred words and avoided allegory.
John did not receive the instructions of these men by himself, but persuaded
Theodore and Maximus, who had been his companions under the instruction of
Libanius, to accompany him. Maximus afterwards became bishop of Seleucia, in
Isauria; and Theodore, bishop of Mompsuestia, in Cilicia. Theodore was well
conversant with the sacred books and with the rest of the discipline of rhetoricians
and philosophers. After studying the ecclesiastical laws, and frequenting the
society of holy men, he was filled with admiration of the ascetic mode of life
and condemned city life. He did not persevere in the same purpose, but after
changing it, he was drawn to his former course of life; and, to justify his
conduct, cited many examples from ancient history, with which he was well acquainted,
and went back into the city. On hearing that he was engaged in business and
intent on marriage, John composed an epistle, (3) more divine in language and
thought than the mind of man could produce, and sent it to him. Upon reading
it, he repented and immediately gave up his possessions, renounced his intention
of marrying, and was saved by the advice of John, and returned to the philosophic
career. This seems to me a remarkable instance of the power of John's eloquence;
for he readily forced conviction on the mind of one who was himself habituated
to persuade and convince others. By the same eloquence, John attracted the
admiration of the people; while he strenuously convicted sinners even in the
churches, and antagonized with boldness all acts of injustice, as if they had
been perpetrated against himself. This boldness pleased the people, but grieved
the wealthy and the powerful, who were guilty of most of the vices which he
denounced.

Being, then, held in such high estimation by those who knew him by experience,
and by those who were acquainted with him through the reports of others, John
was adjudged worthy, in word and in deed, by all the subjects of the Roman
Empire, to be the bishop of the church of Constantinople. The clergy and people
were unanimous in electing him; their choice was approved by the emperor, who
also sent the embassy which should conduct him; and, to confer greater solemnity
on his ordination, a council was convened. Not long after the letter of the
emperor reached Asterius, the general of the East; he sent to desire John to
repair to him, as if he had need of him. On his arrival, he at once made him
get into his chariot, and conveyed him with dispatch to a military station,
Pagras so-called, where he delivered him to the officers whom the emperor had
sent in quest of him. Asterius acted very prudently in sending for John before
the citizens of Antioch knew what was about to occur; for they would probably
have excited a sedition, and have inflicted injury on others, or subjected
themselves to acts of violence, rather than have suffered John to be taken
from them.

When John had arrived at Constantinople, and when the priests were assembled
together, Theophilus opposed his ordination; and proposed as a candidate in
his stead, a presbyter of his church named Isidore, who took charge of strangers
and of the poor at Alexandria. I have been informed by persons who were acquainted
with Isidore, that from his youth upwards he practiced the philosophic virtues,
near Scetis. Others say that he had gained the friendship of Theophilus by
being a participant and a familiar in a very perilous undertaking. For it is
reported that during the war against Maximus, Theophilus intrusted Isidore
with gifts and letters respectively addressed to the emperor and to the tyrant,
and sent him to Rome, desiring him to remain there until the termination of
the war, when he was to deliver the gifts, with the letters, to him, who might
prove the victor. Isidore acted according to his instructions, but the artifice
was detected; and, fearful of being arrested, he fled to Alexandria. Theophilus
from that period evinced much attachment towards him, and, with a view of recompensing
his services, strove to raise him to the bishopric of Constantinople. But whether
there was really any truth in this report, or whether Theophilus desired to
ordain this man because of his excellence, it is certain that he eventually
yielded to those who decided for John. (1) He feared Eutropius, who was artfully
eager for this ordination. Eutropius then presided over the imperial house,
and they say he threatened Theophilus, that unless he would vote with the other
bishops, he would have to defend himself against those who desired to accuse
him; for many written accusations against him were at that time before the
council.

CHAP. III. -- RAPID PROMOTION OF JOHN TO THE BISHOPRIC, AND MORE VEHEMENT
GRAPPLING WITH ITS AFFAIRS. HE RE-ESTABLISHES DISCIPLINE IN THE CHURCHES EVERYWHERE.
BY SENDING AN EMBASSY TO ROME, HE ABOLISHED THE HOSTILITY TO FLAVIAN.

AS soon as John was raised to the episcopal dignity, he devoted his attention
first to the reformation of the lives of his clergy; (2) he reproved and amended
their ways and diet and every procedure of their manifold transactions. He
also ejected some of the clergy from the Church. He was naturally disposed
to reprehend the misconduct of others, and to antagonize righteously those
who acted unjustly; and he gave way to these characteristics still more in
the episcopate; for his nature, having attained power, led his tongue to reproof,
and nerved his wrath more readily against the enemy. He did not confine his
efforts to the reformation of his own church; but as a good and large-minded
man, he sought to rectify abuses throughout the world. Immediately upon entering
the episcopate, he strove to put an end to the dissension which had arisen
concerning Paulinus, between the Western and Egyptian bishops and the bishops
of the East; since on this account a general disunion was overpowering the
churches in the whole empire. He requested the assistance of Theophilus in
effecting the reconciliation of Flavian with the bishop of Rome. (3) Theophilus
agreed to co-operate with him in the restoration of concord; and Acacius, bishop
of Berea, and Isidore, whom Theophilus had proposed as a candidate for ordination
instead of John, were sent on an embassy to Rome. They soon effected the object
of their journey, and sailed back to Egypt. Acacius repaired to Syria, bearing
conciliatory letters to the adherents of Flavian from the priests of Egypt
and of the West. And the churches, after a long delay once more laid aside
their discord, and took up communion with one another. The people at Antioch,
who were called Eustathians, continued, indeed, for some time to hold separate
assemblies, although they possessed no bishop. Evagrius, the successor of Paulinus,
did not, as we have stated, long survive him; and I think reconciliation became
easier for the bishops from there being no one to oppose. The laity, as is
customary with the populace, gradually went over to those who assembled together
under the guidance of Flavian; and thus, in course of time, they were more
and more united.

CHAP. IV. -- ENTERPRISE OF GAINAS, THE GOTHIC BARBARIAN. EVILS WHICH HE PERPETRATED.

A BARBARIAN, named Gainas, (1) who had taken refuge among the Romans, and
who had risen from the lowest ranks of the army to military command, formed
a design to usurp the throne of the Roman Empire. With this in view, he sent
for his countrymen, the Goths, from their own homes to come to the Roman territories,
and appointed his relatives to be tribunes and chiliarchs. Tirbingilus, a relative
of his, who commanded a large body of troops in Phrygia, commenced an insurrection;
and to all persons of judgment it was patent that he was preparing the way.
Under the pretext of resenting the devastation of many of the Phrygian cities,
which had been committed to his superintendence, Gainas turned to their assistance;
but on his arrival, when a multitude of barbarians had been equipped for war,
he disclosed his plan which he had previously concealed, and pillaged the cities
which he had been commanded to guard, and was about to attack others. He then
proceeded to Bithynia, and encamped in the boundaries of Chalcedon, and threatened
war. The cities of the East of Asia, and as many as lived between these regions
and about the Euxine, being thus in danger, the emperor and his counsellors
judged that it would not be safe to venture into any hazardous undertaking
without preparation against men who were already desperate; for the emperor
declared that he was ready to be favorable to him in every point, and sent
to Gainas to offer him whatever he might demand.

Gainas
requested that two consuls, named Saturninus and Aurelian, whom he suspected
of being inimical,
should
be delivered up to him; and when they were
in his power, he pardoned them. He afterwards held a conference with the emperor
near Chalcedon, in the house of prayer in which the tomb of Euphemia the martyr
is deposited; and after he and the emperor had mutually bound themselves by
vows of friendship to each other, he threw down his arms, and repaired to Constantinople,
where, by an imperial edict, he was appointed general of the infantry and cavalry.
Prosperity so far beyond his deserts was more than he could bear with moderation;
and as, contrary to all expectations, he had succeeded so wonderfully in his
former enterprise, he determined to undermine the peace of the Catholic Church.
He was a Christian, and, like the rest of the barbarians, had espoused the
Arian heresy. Urged either by the presidents of this party, or by the suggestions
of his own ambition, he applied to the emperor to place one of the churches
of the city in the hands of the Arians. He represented that it was neither
just nor proper that, while he was general of the Roman troops, he should be
compelled to retire without the walls of the city when he wished to engage
in prayer. John did not remain inactive when made acquainted with these proceedings.
He assembled all the bishops who were then residing in the city, and went with
them to the palace. He spoke at great length in the presence of the emperor
and of Gainas, reproached the latter with being a stranger and a fugitive,
and reminded him that his life had been saved by the father of the emperor,
to whom he had sworn fidelity, as likewise to his children, to the Romans,
and to the laws which he was striving to make powerless. When he had made this
speech he showed the law which Theodosius had established, forbidding the heterodox
to hold a church within the walls. Then, addressing himself to the emperor,
John exhorted him to maintain the laws which had been established against heretics;
and told him that it would be better to be deprived of the empire, than to
be guilty of impiety by becoming a traitor to the house of God. Thus did John
speak boldly like a man, and gave no place to innovation in the churches under
his care. Gainas, however, regardless of his oaths, attacked the city. His
enterprise was pre-announced by the appearance of a comet directly over the
city; this comet was of extraordinary magnitude, larger, it is said, than any
that had previously been seen, and reaching almost to the earth itself. Gainas
intended to seize first upon the stores of the bankers, and hoped to collect
together their enormous wealth. But since the rumor of his plan was spread,
the bankers concealed their ready wealth and no longer set forth silver upon
the tables, as they were wont publicly to do. Gainas then sent some of the
barbarians by night to set fire to the palace; but they were unskillful and
overcome with fear, so they turned back. For when they drew near the edifice,
they fancied that they saw a multitude of heavily armed men of immense stature,
and they returned to inform Gainas that fresh troops had just arrived. Gainas
disbelieved their report, for he was confident that no troops bad entered the
city. As, however, other individuals whom he despatched to the palace for the
same purpose, on the following night, returned with the same report, he went
out himself to be an eye-witness of the extraordinary spectacle. Imagining
that the army before him consisted of soldiers who had been withdrawn from
other cities, and that these troops protected the city and palace by night
and concealed themselves by day, Gainas feigned to be possessed of a demon;
and under the pretext of offering up a prayer, went to the church which the
father of the emperor had erected in honor of John the Baptist, at Hebdomos.
Some of the barbarians remained in Constantinople, and others accompanied Gainas;
they secretly carried arms and pots full of darts in the women's chariots,
but when they were discovered, they slew the guard at the gates, who attempted
to hinder the carrying out of the arms. From this the city was filled with
as much confusion and uproar, as if it had suddenly been captured. A good thought
ruled this terrible moment; for the emperor without delay declared Gainas a
public enemy, and commanded that all the barbarians left in the city should
be slain. No sooner was this mandate issued, than the soldiers rushed upon
the barbarians, and slew the greater number of them; they then set fire to
the church which was named after the Goths; for as was customary, they had
congregated there in the house of prayer, because there was no other refuge,
since the gates were shut. On hearing of this calamity, Gainas passed through
Thrace, and proceeded towards the Cherronesus, intending to cross the Hellespont;
for he thought that if he could conquer the opposite coast of Asia, he could
easily subjugate to himself all the provinces of the empire in the East. All
these things proved contrary to his hopes, because the Romans were there favored
by Divine power. For the army sent by the emperor was on hand by land and by
sea, under the command of Flavira, who although a barbarian by birth, was a
good man, and an able general. The barbarians, having no ships, imprudently
attempted to cross the Hellespont to the opposite continent on rafts; when
suddenly a great wind blew and violently separated them, and drove them against
the Roman vessels. The greater part of the barbarians and their horses were
drowned; but many were slain by the military. Gainas, however, with a few of
his followers escaped; but not long after, when fleeing through Thrace, they
fell in with another detachment of the Roman army, and Gainas, with all his
barbarians, perished. Such was the termination of the daring schemes and life
of Gainas.

Flavita had rendered himself very conspicuous in this war, and was therefore
appointed consul. (1) During his consulate, and that of Vincentius, a son was
born to the emperor. The young prince was named after his grandfather, and
at the commencement of the next consulate, (2) was proclaimed Augustus.

CHAP. V. -- JOHN SWAYED THE PEOPLE BY HIS TEACHINGS. CONCERNING THE WOMAN,
A FOLLOWER OF MACEDONIUS, ON ACCOUNT OF WHOM THE BREAD WAS TURNED INTO A STONE.

JOHN governed the church of Constantinople with exemplary prudence, and induced
many of the pagans and of the heretics to unite themselves with him. (3) Crowds
of people daily resorted to him; some for the purpose of being edified by listening
to his discourses, and others with the intention of tempting him, He, how ever,
pleased and attracted all classes, and led them to embrace the same religious
sentiments as himself. As the people pressed around him, and could not get
enough of his words, so that when they were pushed hither and you, and were
pressing one another, they incurred danger; and each one was forcing his way
to go farther, so that by standing near, he might hear more accurately what
John was saying, he placed himself in the midst of them upon the platform of
the readers, and, having taken a seat, taught the multitude. It seems to me
that this is a suitable place in my history for the insertion of the account
of a miracle which was performed during the life of John. A certain man of
the Macedonian heresy, lived with a wife of the same belief; he chanced to
hear John discoursing concerning the opinion one ought to hold about the Divine
nature; he was convinced by the argument he heard advanced, and strove to persuade
his wife to embrace the same sentiments. Her previous habits of mind, and the
conversation of other women of her acquaintance, deterred her from complying
with his wishes; and, when he found that all his efforts to convince her were
futile, he told her that, unless she would be of one mind with him on Divine
subjects, she should not continue to live with him. The woman, therefore, promised
to do as she was required; but, at the same time, she made known the matter
to one of her servant maids, in whose fidelity she confided, and used her as
an instrument in deceiving her husband. At the season of the celebration of
the mysteries (the initiated will understand what I mean), this woman kept
what was given to her and held down her head as if engaged in prayer. Her servant,
who was standing behind her, placed in her hand a bit of bread which she had
brought with her; but, as soon as she had placed it between her teeth, it was
converted into stone. Since such a divine affair had happened to her, she was
very fearful lest any further calamity should befall her, and ran to the bishop,
and confessed on herself. She showed him the stone, which bore the marks of
her teeth; it was composed of some unknown substance, and was marked by a very
strange color. She implored forgiveness with tears, and continued ever after
to hold the same religious tenets as her husband. If any person should consider
this narrative incredible, he can inspect the stone in question; for it is
still preserved in the treasury of the church of Constantinople.

CHAP. VI.--PROCEEDINGS OF JOHN IN ASIA AND PHRYGIA. HERACLIDES, BISHOP OF
EPHESUS, AND GERONTIUS, BISHOP OF NICOMEDIA.

JOHN (1)
having been informed that the churches in Asia and the neighborhood were
governed by unworthy
persons,
and that they bartered the priesthood for
the incomes and gifts received, or bestowed that dignity as a matter of private
favor, repaired to Ephesus, and deposed thirteen bishops, some in Lycia and
Phrygia, and others in Asia itself, and appointed others in their stead. The
bishop of Ephesus was dead, and he therefore ordained Heraclides over the church.
Heraclides was a native of Cyprus, and was one of the deacons under John: he
had formerly joined the monks at Scetis, and had been the disciple of the monk
Evagrius. John also expelled Gerontius, bishop of the church in Nicomedia.
This latter was a deacon under Ambrosius, of the church of Milan; he declared,
I do not know why, either with an intention to invent a miracle, or because
he had been himself deceived by the art and phantasms of a demon, that he had
seized something resembling an ass, (<greek>on</greek><s228<greek>skliz</greek>)
by night, had cut off its head, and flung it into a grinding-house. Ambrose
regarded this mode of discourse as unworthy of a deacon of God, and commanded
Gerontius to remain in seclusion until he had expiated his fault by repentance.
Gerontius, however, was a very skillful physician; he was eloquent and persuasive,
and knew well how to gain friends; be therefore ridiculed the command of Ambrose,
and repaired to Constantinople. In a short time he obtained the friendship
of some of the most powerful men at court; and, not long after, was elevated
to the bishopric of Nicomedia. He was ordained by Helladius, bishop of Caesarea
in Cappadocia, who performed this office the more readily for him, because
he had been instrumental, through his interest at court, in obtaining high
appointment in the army for that functionary's son. When Ambrose heard of this
ordination, he wrote to Nectarius, the president of the church of Constantinople,
desiring him to eject Gerontius from the priesthood, and not permit him and
the ecclesiastical order to be so abused. However desirous Nectarius might
have been to obey this injunction, he could never succeed carrying it into
effect, owing to the determined resistance of the people of Nicomedia. John
deposed Gerontius, and ordained Pansophius, who had formerly been preceptor
to the wife of the emperor, and who, though a man of decided piety and of a
mild and gentle disposition, was not liked by the Nicomedians. They arose in
frequent sedition, and enumerated publicly and privately the beneficence of
Gerontius, and on the liberal advantage derived from his science, and its generous
and active use for the rich and poor alike; and as is usual when we applaud
those we love, they ascribed many other virtues to him. They went about the
streets of their own city and Constantinople as if some earthquake, or pestilence,
or other visitation of Divine wrath had occurred, and sang psalms, and offered
supplications that they might have Gerontius for their bishop. They were at
length compelled to yield to necessity, and parted with grief and groans from
Gerontius, receiving in his stead a bishop whom they regarded with fear and
aversion. The bishops who had been deposed all their followers declaimed against
John, as the leader of a revolution in the churches, and as changing the rights
of the ordained, contrary to the ancestral laws; and under the influence of
their grievance, they condemned deeds done by him, which were worthy of praise
according to the opinion of most people. Among other matters, they reproached
him with the proceedings that had been taken against Eutropius.

CHAP. VII.-- CONCERNING EUTROPIUS, CHIEF OF THE EUNUCHS, AND THE LAW ENACTED
BY HIM. ON BEING TURNED FROM THE CHURCH, HE WAS PUT TO DEATH. MURMURS AGAINST
JOHN.

EUTROPIUS was originally the chief of the eunuchs, and was the first and only
person of that rank of whom we have known or heard who attained the consular
and patrician dignity. (1) When he was raised to present power, he thought
not of the future, nor of the instability of human affairs, but caused those
who sought an asylum in churches to be thrust out. He treated Pentadia, the
wife of Timasius, in this manner. Timasius was a general in the army, capable
and much feared; but Eutropius procured an edict for his banishment to Pasis
in Egypt, under the pretext that he aspired to tyranny. I have been informed
that Timasius fell a victim to thirst, or dreading lest anything worse might
be in store, he was caught in the sands there, and was found dead. Eutropius
issued a law, enacting that no one should seek refuge in churches, and that
those who had already fled thither should be driven out. He was, however, the
first to transgress this law; for not long after its enactment, he offended
the empress, and immediately left the palace, and fled to the Church as a suppliant.
While he was lying beneath the table, John pronounced a discourse, in which
he reprehended the pride of power, and directed the attention of the people
to the instability of human greatness. The enemies of John hence took occasion
to cast reproach on him, because he had rebuked instead of compassionating,
one who was suffering under the calamities of adverse fortunes. Eutropius soon
after paid the penalty of his impious plan, and was beheaded; and the law which
he had enacted was effaced from the public inscriptions. The wrath of God having
been thus promptly visited on the injustice that had been perpetrated against
the Church, prosperity was restored to it, and there was an increase in the
Divine worship. The people of Constantinople were more sedulous then than before,
in attendance at the singing of the morning and evening hymns.

CHAP. VIII. -- ANTIPHONAL HYMNS AGAINST THE ARIANS INTRODUCED BY JOHN. THE
INTERESTS OF THE ORTHODOX ARE MUCH AUGMENTED BY THE TEACHINGS OF JOHN, WHILE
THE WEALTHY ARE MORE AND MORE ENRAGED.

THE Arians,
having been deprived of their churches in Constantinople during the reign
Theodosius,
held their
churches without the walls of the city. (2)
They previously assembled by night in the public porticoes, and were divided
into bands, so that they sang antiphonally, for they had composed certain refrains
which flected their own dogma, and at the break of day marched in procession,
singing these hymns, to the places in which they held their churches. They
proceeded in this manner on all solemn festivals, and on the first and last
days of the week. The sentiments propounded in these odes were such as were
likely to engender disputes. As, for instance, the following: "Where are
those who say that the Three Persons constitute one Power?" Other similar
acrimonious observations were interspersed throughout their compositions. John
was fearful lest any of his own church people should be led astray by witnessing
these exhibitions, and therefore commanded them to sing hymns in the same manner.
The orthodox became more distinguished, and in a short time surpassed the opposing
heretics in number and processions; for they had silver crosses and lighted
wax tapers borne before them. The eunuch of the empress was appointed to regulate
these processions, to pay the cost of whatever might be required, and to prepare
hymns. Hence the Arians, impelled either by jealousy or revenge, attacked the
members of the Catholic Church. Much bloodshed ensued on both sides. Briso
(for this was the name of the imperial eunuch) was wounded on the forehead
by a stone that was cast at him. The resentment of the emperor was kindled,
and he put a stop to the Arian assemblies. Having commenced the custom of singing
hymns in the manner and from the cause above stated, the members of the Catholic
Church did not discontinue the practice, but have retained it to the present
day. The institution of these processions and his services in the Church endeared
John to the people; but he was hated by the clergy and the powerful on account
of his free boldness, for he never failed to rebuke the clergy when he detected
them in acts of injustice, nor to exhort the powerful to return to the practice
of virtue when they abused their wealth, committed impiety, or yielded to voluptuousness.

CHAP. IX. --SERAPION, THE ARCHDEACON, AND ST. OLYMPIAS. SOME OF THE CELEBRATED
MEN SOLENTLY BEAR DOWN UPON JOHN, TRADUCING HIM AS IMPRACTICABLE AND PASSIONATE.

THE enmity
of the clergy against John was greatly increased by Serapion, his archdeacon.
He was an
Egyptian,
naturally prone to anger, and always ready
to insult his opponents? The feelings of hostility were further fostered by
the counsel which Olympias received from John. Olympias was of most illustrious
birth, and although she had become a widow while young, and was zealously attached
to the exercises of monastic philosophy according to the laws of the church,
yet Nectarius had ordained her as deaconess. John, perceiving that she bestowed
her goods liberally on any one who asked her for them, and that she despised
everything but the service of God, said to her: "I applaud your intentions;
but would have you know that those who aspire to the perfection of virtue according
to God, ought to distribute their wealth with economy. You, however, have been
bestowing wealth on the wealthy, which is as useless as if you had cast it
into the sea. Know you not that you have voluntarily, for the sake of God,
devoted all your possessions to the relief of the poor. You ought, therefore,
to regard your wealth as belonging to your Master, and to remember that you
have to account for its distribution. If you will be persuaded by me, you will
in future regulate your donations according to the wants of those who solicit
relief. You will thus be enabled to extend the sphere of your benevolence,
and your mercy and most zealous care will receive reward from God."

John had several disputes with many of the monks, particularly with Isaac.
He highly commended those who remained in quietude in the monasteries and practiced
philosophy there; he protected them from all injustice and solicitiously supplied
whatever necessities they might have. But the monks who went out of doors and
made their appearance in cities, he reproached and regarded as insulting philosophy.
For these causes, he incurred the hatred of the clergy, and of many of the
monks, who called him a hard, passionate, morose, and arrogant man. They therefore
attempted to bring his life into public disrepute, by stating confidently,
as if it were the truth, that he would eat with no one, and that he refused
every invitation to a meal that was offered him. I know of no pretext that
could have given rise to this assertion, except that, as I have been assured
by a man of undoubted veracity, John had, by rigorous asceticism, rendered
himself liable to pain in the head and stomach, and was thus prevented from
being present at some of the choicest symposia. Hence, however, originated
the greatest accusation that was ever devised against him.

CHAP. X. --SEVERIAN, BISHOP OF GABALES, AND ANTIOCHUS, BISHOP OF PTOLEMAIS.
DISPUTE BETWEEN SERAPION AND SEVERIAN. RECONCILIATION BETWEEN THEM EFFECTED
BY THE EMPRESS.

JOHN likewise
incurred the enmity of the empress, through the machinations of Severian,
bishop of
Gabali in
Syria. (1) Severian and Antiochus, bishop
of Ptolemais, a city in Phoenicia, were both learned men, and well qualified
to teach in the churches. Antiochus had so fine a voice and delivery that,
by some persons, he was surnamed Chrysostom. Severian, on the other hand, had
the harshness of the Syrians in his speech; but, in point of knowledge and
the evidences of the Scriptures, he was considered superior to Antiochus. It
appears that Antiochus was the first to visit Constantinople; he gained great
applause by his discourses, amassed some property, and then returned to his
own city. Severian followed his example, and went to Constantinople. He formed
an intimacy with John, spoke frequently in the churches, and was admired. He
was in honor, and became well known to many of those in power, and to the emperor
and empress. When John went to Asia, he commended the Church to his care; for
he was so far deceived by the adulation of Severian as to imagine him to be
his zealous friend. Severian, however, thought only of gratifying his auditors,
and of pleasing the people by his discourses. (2) When John was apprised of
this, he was filled with jealousy; and his resentment was further kindled,
it is said, by the representations of Serapion. After the return of John from
Asia, Serapion happened to see Severian passing; but, instead of rising to
salute him, he kept his seat, in order to show his utter contempt for the man.
Severian was offended by this manifestation of disrespect, and exclaimed, "If
Serapion die a clergyman, then Christ was not incarnate." Serapion reported
these words; and John, in consequence, expelled Severian from the city as insolent,
and as a blaspheme against God; for witnesses were brought forward to attest
that the above words had been really uttered by him. Some of the friends of
Serapion even went so far as to suppress part of the speech of Severian, and
to affirm that he had declared that Christ was not incarnate. John also rebuked
Severian, by asking whether, "If Serapion should not die among the clergy,
it would follow that Christ had not been incarnate?" As Soon as the wife
of the emperor was informed by the friends of Severian of what had occurred,
she immediately sent for him from Chalcedon. John, notwithstanding all her
remonstrances, positively refused to hold any intercourse with him, until the
empress placed her son Theodosius on his knees in the church named after the
apostles; then she entreated him persistently, and frequently adjured him,
until John yielded a reluctant consent to receive Severian into friendship.
Such are the accounts which I have received of these transactions. (3))

CHAP. XI. --QUESTION AGITATED IN EGYPT, AS TO WHETHER GOD HAS A CORPOREAL
FORM. THEOPHILUS, BISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA, AND THE BOOKS OF ORIGEN.

A QUESTION
was at this period agitated in Egypt, which had been propounded a short time
previously,
namely, whether
it is right to believe that God is
anthropomorphic. (1) Because they laid hold of the sacred words with simplicity
and without any questioning, most of the monks of that part of the world were
of this opinion; and supposed that God possessed eyes, a face, and hands, and
other members of the bodily organization. But those who searched into the hidden
meaning of the terms of Scripture held the opposite; and they maintained that
those who denied the incorporeality of God were guilty of blasphemy. This later
opinion was espoused by Theophilus, and preached by him in the church; and
in the epistle (2) which, according to custom, he wrote respecting the celebration
of the passover, he took occasion to state that God ought to be regarded as
incorporeal, as alien to a human form. When it was, signified to the Egyptian
monks that Theophilus had broached these sentiments, they went to Alexandria,
assembled the people together in one place, excited a tumult, and determined
upon slaying the bishop as an impious man. Theophilus, however, presented himself
to the insurgents forthwith, and said to them, "When I look upon you,
it is as if I beheld the face of God." This address sufficiently mollified
the men; yielding their wrath, they replied, "Wherefore, then, if you
really hold orthodox doctrines, do you not denounce the books of Origen; since
those who read them are led into such opinions?" "Such has long been
my intention," replied he, "and I shall do as you advise; for I blame
not less than you do, all those who follow the doctrines of Origen." By
these means he deluded the brethren, and broke up the sedition.

CHAP.
XII. --ABOUT THE FOUR BROTHERS, CALLED "THE LONG," WHO WERE
ASCETICS, AND OF WHOM THEOPHILUS WAS AN ENEMY; ABOUT ISIDORE AND THE EVENTS
WHICH CAME ABOUT THROUGH THESE FOUR.

THE controversy
would most likely have been terminated, had it not been renewed by Theophilus
himself,
from
inimical feelings against Ammonius, Dioscorus,
Eusebius, and Euthymius, who were called "the long." (3) They were
brothers; and, as we have before stated, became conspicuous among the philosophers
at Scetis. They were at one period beloved by Theophilus above all the other
monks of Egypt; he sought their society, and frequently dwelt with them. He
even conferred on Dioscorus the bishopric of Hermopolis. He was confirmed in
his hatred of them, on account of his enmity to Isidore, whom he had endeavored
to ordain in Constantinople after Nectarius. Some say, that a woman, belonging
to the Manichean heresy, had been converted to the faith of the Catholic Church;
Theophilus rebuked the arch-presbyter (towards whom he had other reasons for
entertaining resentful feeling), because he had admitted her to participate
in the sacred mysteries before she had adjured her former heresy. Peter, for
this was the name of the arch-presbyter, maintained that he had received the
woman into communion according to the laws of the Church, and with the consent
of Theophilus; and referred to Isidore, as a witness to the truth of what he
had deposed. Isidore happened to be then at Rome on an embassy; but, on his
return, he testified that the assertions of Peter were true. Theophilus resented
this avowal as a calumny, and ejected both him and Peter from the Church. Such
is the account given by some persons of the transaction. I have, however, heard
it alleged, by a man of undoubted veracity, who was very intimate with the
monks above mentioned, that the enmity of Theophilus towards Isidore originated
from two causes. One of these causes was identical with that specified by Peter
the presbyter, namely, that he had refused to attest the existence of a testament
in which the inheritance was entailed on the sister of Theophilus; the other
cause alleged by this individual was, that Isidore refused to give up certain
moneys that had been confided to him for the relief of the poor, and which
Theophilus wished to appropriate to the erection of churches; saying that it
is better to restore the bodies of the suffering, which are more rightly to
be considered the temples of God, and for which end the money had been furnished,
than to build walls. But from whatever cause the enmity of Theophilus might
have originated, Isidore, immediately after his excommunication, joined his
former companions, the monks at Scetis. Ammonius, with a few others, then repaired
to Theophilus, and en-treated him to restore Isidore to communion. Theophilus
readily promised to do as they requested; but as time passed away, and nothing
more was effected for them, and it became evident that Theophilus was pretending,
they again repaired to him, renewed their entreaties, and pressed him to be
faithful to his engagement. Instead of complying, Theophilus thrust one of
the monks into prison, for the purpose of intimidating the others. But he erred
in this. Ammonius and all the monks with him then went to the prison, into
which they were readily admitted by the jailer, who imagined that they had
come to bring provisions to the prisoner; but having once obtained admission,
they refused to leave the prison. When Theophilus heard of their voluntary
confinement, he sent to desire them to come to him. They replied, that he ought
first to take them out of prison himself, for it was not just, after having
been subjected to public indignity, that they should be privately released
from confinement. At length, however, they yielded and went to him. Theophilus
apologized for what had occurred, and dismissed them as if he had no further
intention of molesting them; but by himself, he champed and was vexed, and
determined to do them ill. He was in doubt, however, as to how he could ill-treat
them, as they had no possessions, and despised everything but philosophy, until
it occurred to him, to disturb the peace of their retirement. From his former
intercourse with them he had gathered that they blamed those who believe that
God has a human form, and that they adhered to the opinions of Origen; he brought
them into collision with the multitude of monks who maintained the other view.
A terrible contention prevailed among the monks, for they did not think it
worth while to persuade one another by flaming arguments for themselves in
an orderly way, but settled down into insults. They gave the name of Origenists
to those who maintained the incorporeality of the Deity, while those who held
the opposite opinion were called Anthropomorphists.

CHAP. XIII. -- THESE FOUR REPAIR TO JOHN ON ACCOUNT OF HIS INTEREST; FOR THIS
REASON, THEOPHILUS WAS ENRAGED, AND PREPARES HIMSELF TO FIGHT AGAINST JOHN.

DIOSCORUS,
Ammonius, and the other monks, having discovered the machinations of Theophilus,
retired
to Jerusalem,
and thence proceeded to Scythopolis; for
they thought that it would be an advantageous residence there for them on account
of the many palms, whose leaves are used by the monks for their customary work.
(1) Dioscorus and Ammonius were accompanied hither by about eighty other monks.
In the meantime, Theophilus sent messengers to Constantinople, to prefer complaints
against them, and to oppose any petitions that they might lay before the emperor.
On being informed of this fact, Ammonius and the monks embarked for Constantinople,
and took Isidore with them; and they requested that their cause might be tried
in the presence of the emperor and of the bishop; for they thought that, by
reason of his boldness, John, who was careful to do right, would be able to
help them in their rights. John, although he received them with kindness, and
treated them with honor, and did not forbid them to pray in the church, refused
to admit them to participation in the mysteries, for it was not lawful to do
this before the investigation. He wrote to Theophilus, desiring him to receive
them back into communion, as their sentiments concerning the Divine nature
were orthodox; requesting him, if he regarded their orthodoxy as doubtful,
to send some one to act as their accuser. Theophilus returned no reply to this
epistle. Some time subsequently, Ammonius and his companions presented themselves
before the wife of the emperor, as she was riding out, and complained of the
machinations of Theophilus against them. She knew what had been plotted against
them; and she stood up in honor of them; and, leaning forward from her royal
chariot, she nodded, and said to them, "Pray for the emperor, for me,
for our children, and for the empire. For my part, I shall shortly cause a
council to be convened, to which Theophilus shall be summoned." A false
report having prevailed in Alexandria, that John had received Dioscorus and
his companions into communion, and had afforded them every aid and encouragement
in his power, Theophilus began to reflect upon what measures it would be possible
to adopt in order to eject John from his episcopate.

CHAP. XIV. --PERVERSITY OF THEOPHILUS. ST. EPIPHANIUS: HIS RESIDENCE AT CONSTANTINOPLE
AND PREPARATION TO EXCITE THE PEOPLE AGAINST JOHN.

THEOPHILUS
kept his designs against John as secret as possible; and wrote to the bishops
of every city,
condemning
the books of Origen. (2) It also occurred
to him that it would be advantageous to enlist Epiphanius, bishop of Salamis,
in Cyprus, on his side, a man who was revered for his life, and was the most
distinguished of his contemporaries; and he therefore formed a friendship with
him, although he had formerly blamed him for asserting that God possessed a
human form. As if repentant of having ever entertained any other sentiment,
Theophilus wrote to Epiphanius to acquaint him that he now held the same opinions
as himself, and to move attacks against the books of Origen, as the source
of such nefarious dogmas. Epiphanius had long regarded the writings of Origen
with peculiar aversion, and was therefore easily led to attach credit to the
epistle of Theophilus. He soon after assembled the bishops of Cyprus together,
and prohibited the examination of the books of Origen. He also wrote to the
other bishops, and, among others, to the bishop of Constantinople, exhorting
them to convene. Synods, and to make the same decision. Theophilus, perceiving
that there could be no l danger in following the example of Epiphanius, who
was the object of popular praise, and who was admired for the virtue of his
life, whatever his opinion might be, passed a vote similar to that of Epiphanius,
with the concurrence of the bishops under his jurisdiction. John, on the other
hand, paid little attention to the letters of Epiphanius and Theophilus. Those
among the powerful and the clergy, who were opposed to him, perceived that
the designs of Theophilus tended to his ejection from the bishopric, and therefore
endeavored to procure the convention of a council in Constantinople, in order
to carry this measure into execution. Theophilus, knowing this, exerted himself
to the utmost in convening this council. He commanded the bishops of Egypt
to repair by sea to Constantinople; he wrote to request Epiphanius and the
other Eastern bishops to proceed to that city with as little delay as possible,
and he himself set off on the journey thither by land. Epiphanius was the first
to sail from Cyprus; he landed at Hebdomos, a suburb of Constantinople; and
after having prayed in the church erected at that place, he proceeded to enter
the city. In order to do him honor, John went out with all his clergy to meet
him. Epiphanius, however, evinced clearly by his conduct that he believed the
accusations against John; for, although invited to reside in the ecclesiastical
residences, he would not continue there, and refused to meet with John in them.
He also privately assembled all the bishops who were residing in Constantinople,
and showed them the decrees which he had issued against the discourses of Origen.
He persuaded some of the bishops to approve of these decrees, while others
objected to them. Theotimus, bishop of Scythia, strongly opposed the proceedings
of Epiphanius, and told him that it was not right to cast insult on the memory
of one who had long been numbered with the dead; nor was it without blasphemy
to assail the conclusion to which the ancients had arrived on the subject,
and to set aside their decisions. While discoursing in this strain, he drew
forth a book of Origen's which he had brought with him; and, after reading
aloud a passage conducive to the education of the Church, he remarked that
those who condemned such sentiments acted absurdly, for they were in danger
of insulting the subjects themselves about which these words treated. John
still had respect for Epiphanius, and invited him to join in the meetings of
his church, and to dwell with him. But Epiphanius declared that he would neither
reside with John nor pray with him publicly, unless he would denounce the works
of Origen and expel Dioscorus and his companions. Not considering it just to
act in the manner proposed until judgment had been passed on the case, John
tried to postpone matters. When the assembly was about to be held in the Church
of the Apostles, those ill-disposed to John planned that Epiphanius should
go beforehand and publicly decry the books of Origen to the people, and Dioscorus
and his companions as the partisans of this writer; and also to attack the
bishop of the city as the abetter of those heretics. And some concerned themselves
in this; for by this means it was supposed that the affections of the people
would be alienated from their bishop. The following day, when Epiphanius was
about entering the church, in order to carry his design into execution, he
was stopped by Serapion, at the command of John, who had received intimation
of the plot. Serapion proved to Epiphanius that while the project he had devised
was unjust in itself, it could be of no personal advantage to him; for that
if it should excite a popular resurrection, he would be regarded as responsible
for the outrages that might follow. By these arguments Epiphanius was induced
to relinquish his attack.

CHAP.
XV. -- THE SON OF THE EMPRESS AND ST. EPIPHANIUS.CONFERENCE BETWEEN THE "LONG BROTHERS"AND
EPIPHANIUS,AND HIS RE-EMBARKATION FOR CYPRUS. EPIPHANIUS AND JOHN.

ABOUT
this time, the son of the empress was attacked by a dangerous illness, and
the mother, apprehensive
of consequences, sent to implore Epiphanius to
pray for him. (1) Epiphanius returned for answer, that the sick one would live,
provided that she would avoid all intercourse with the heretic Dioscorus and
his companions. To this message the empress replied as follows: "If it
be the will of God to take my son, His will be done. The Lord who gave me my
child, can take him back again. You have not power to raise the dead, otherwise
your archdeacon would not have died." She alluded to Chrispion, the archdeacon,
who had died a short time previously. He was brother to Fuscon and Salamanus,
monks whom I had occasion to mention (2) when detailing the history of events
under the reign of Valens; he had been companion of Epiphanius, and had been
appointed his archdeacon. Ammonius and his companions went to Epiphanius, at
the permission of the empress. Epiphanius inquired who they were, and Ammonius
replied, "We are, O father, the Long Brothers; we come respectfully to
know whether you have read any of our works or those of our disciples?" On
Epiphanius replying that he had not seen them, he continued, "How is it,
then, that you consider us to be heretics, when you have no proof as to what
sentiments we may hold?" Epiphanius said that he had formed his judgment
by the reports he had heard on the subject; and Ammonius replied, "We
have pursued a very different line of conduct from yours. We have conversed
with your disciples, and read your works frequently, and among others, that
entitled 'The Anchored.' When we have met with persons who have ridiculed your
opinions, and asserted that your writings are replete with heresy, we have
contended for you, and defended you as our father. Ought you then to condemn
the absent upon mere report, and of whom you know nothing with assured certitude,
or return such an exchange to those who have spoken well of you?" Epiphanius
was measurably convinced, and dismissed them. Soon after he embarked for Cyprus,
either because he recognized the futility of his journey to Constantinople,
or because, as there is reason to believe, God had revealed to him his approaching
death; for he died while on his voyage back to Cyprus. It is reported that
he said to the bishops who had accompanied him to the place of embarkation, "I
leave you the city, the palace, and the stage, for I shall shortly depart." I
have been informed by several persons that John predicted that Epiphanius would
die at sea, and that this latter predicted the deposition of John. For it appears
that when the dispute between them was at its height, Epiphanius said to John, "I
hope you will not die a bishop," and that John replied, "I hope you
will never return to your bishopric."

CHAP. XVI.--THE DISPUTE BETWEEN THE EMPRESS AND JOHN. ARRIVAL OF THEOPHILUS
FROM EGYPT. CYRINUS, BISHOP OF CHALCEDON.

AFTER the departure of Epiphanius, John, when preaching in the church as usual,
chanced to inveigh against the vices to which females are peculiarly prone.(1)
The people imagined that his strictures were enigmatically directed against
the wife of the emperor. The enemies of the bishop did not fail to report his
discourse in this sense to the empress; and she, conceiving herself to have
been insulted, complained to the emperor, and urged the necessity for the speedy
presence of Theophilus and the convocation of a council. Severian, bishop of
Gabala, who had not yet changed his former resentment against John, cooperated
in the promotion of these measures. I am not in possession of sufficient data
to determine whether there was any truth in the current report that John delivered
the discourse above mentioned with express allusion to the empress, because
he suspected her of having excited Epiphanius against him. Theophilus arrived
soon after at Chalcedon in Bithynia, and was followed thither by many bishops.
Some of the bishops joined him in compliance with his own invitation, and others
in obedience to the commands of the emperor. The bishops whom John had deposed
in Asia repaired to Chalcedon with the utmost alacrity, as likewise all those
who cherished any feeling of hostility against him. The ships which Theophilus
expected from Egypt had already come to Chalcedon. When they had convened again
in the same place, and when they had deliberated how the attempt against John
might be judiciously forwarded by them, Cyrinus, leader of the church of Chalcedon,
who was an Egyptian and a relative of Theophilus, and who had besides some
other difficulties with John, spoke very abusively of him. Justice, however,
seemed to follow him speedily; for Maruthas, a native of Mesopotamia, who had
accompanied the bishops, happened to tread on his foot; and Cyrinus suffered
so severely from this accident that he was unable to repair with the other
bishops to Constantinople, although his aid was necessary to the execution
of the designs that had been formed against John. The wound assumed so alarming
an appearance, that the surgeons were obliged to perform several operations
on the leg; and at length mortification took place, and spread over the whole
body, and even extended to the other foot. He expired soon afterwards in great
agony.

CHAP. XVII.--COUNCIL HELD BY THEOPHILUS AND THE ACCUSERS OF JOHN IN RUFINIANAE.
JOHN IS SUMMONED TO ATTEND, AND NOT BEING PRESENT, WAS DEPOSED BY THEM.

WHEN Theophilus
entered Constantinople, none of the clergy went out to meet him; for his
enmity against
the bishop
had become publicly known.(2) Some sailors
from Alexandria, however, who chanced to be on the shore, both from the corn
vessels as well as other ships, having collected together, received him with
great acclamations of joy. Passing by the church, he proceeded directly to
the palace, where a lodging had been prepared for his accommodation. He soon
perceived that many people of the city were strongly prejudiced against John,
and ready to bring accusations against him; and taking his measures accordingly,
he repaired to a place called "The Oak," in the suburbs of Chalcedon.
This place now bears the name of Rufinus; for he was a consul, and erected
here a magnificent palace, and a great church in honor of the apostles, Peter
and Paul, and therefore named it the Apostolium; and appointed a congregation
of monks to perform the clerical duties in the church. When Theophilus and
the other bishops met for deliberation in this place, he judged it expedient
to make no further allusion to the works of Origen, and called the monks of
Scetis to repentance, promising that there would be no recollection of wrongs
nor infliction of evil. His partisans zealously seconded his efforts, and told
them that they must ask Theophilus to pardon their conduct; and as all the
members of the assembly concurred in this request, the monks were troubled,
and believing that it was necessary to do what they were desired by so many
bishops, they used the words which it was their custom to use even when injured,
and said "spare us." Theophilus willingly received them into favor,
and restored them to communion; and the question concerning the injuries done
to the monks of Scetis was ended. I feel convinced that this matter would not
have been so quickly settled, had Dioscorus and Ammonius been present with
the other monks. But Dioscorus had died some time previously, and had been
interred in the church dedicated to St. Mocius the martyr. Ammonius, also,
had been taken ill at the very time that preparations were being made for the
convocation of the council; and although he insisted upon repairing to "The
Oak," yet his malady was thereby greatly increased: he died soon after
his journey, and had a splendid entombment among the monks of that vicinity,
and there he lies. Theophilus, it is said, shed tears on hearing of his death,
and declared that although he had been the cause of much perplexity, there
was not a monk to be found of more exalted character than Ammonius. It must,
however, be admitted, that the death of this monk tended much to promote the
success of the designs of Theophilus.

The members of the council summoned all the clergy of Constantinople to appear
before them, and threatened to depose those who did not obey the summons. They
cited John to appear and answer; as likewise Serapion, Tigrius a presbyter,
and Paul a reader. John acquainted them, through the medium of Demetrius, bishop
of Pisinus, and of some of the other clergy, who were his friends, that he
would not avoid investigation, but that he was ready, if the names of his accusers
and the subject of his accusations were made known to him, to justify his proceedings
before a larger council; for he did not choose to be considered insane, and
to recognize his manifest enemies as judges. The bishops testified so much
indignation at the non-compliance of John, that some of the clergy whom he
had sent to the council were intimidated and did not return to him. Demetrius,
and those who preferred his interests to all other considerations, quitted
the council, and returned to him. The same day, a courier and a shorthand writer
were dispatched from the palace to command John to repair to the bishops, and
to urge the bishops to decide his cause without further delay. After John had
been cited four times, and had appealed to a general council, no other accusation
could be substantiated against him, except his refusal to obey the summons
of the council; and upon this ground they deposed him.

CHAP. XVIII.--SEDITION OF THE PEOPLE AGAINST THEOPHILUS; AND THEY TRADUCED
THEIR RULERS. JOHN WAS RECALLED, AND AGAIN CAME TO THE SEE.

THE people of Constantinople were made acquainted with the decree of the council
towards the evening; and they immediately rose up in sedition.(1) At the break
of day they ran to the church, and shouted, among many other plans, that a
larger council ought to be convened to take cognizance of the matter; and they
prevented the officers, who had been sent by the emperor to convey John into
banishment, from carrying the edict into execution. John, apprehensive lest
another accusation should be preferred against him, under the pretext that
he had disobeyed the mandate of the emperor, or excited an insurrection among
the people, when the multitude was dispersed, secretly made his escape from
the church at noon, three days after his deposition. When the people became
aware that he had gone into exile, the sedition became serious, and many insulting
speeches were uttered against the emperor and the council; and particularly
against Theophilus and Severian, who were regarded as the originators of the
plot. Severian happened to be teaching in the church at the very time that
these occurrences were taking place; and he took occasion to commend the deposition
of John, and stated that, even supposing him guiltless of other crimes, John
deserved to be deposed on account of his pride; because, while God willingly
forgives men all other sins, he resists the proud. At this discourse the people
became restive under the wrong, and renewed their wrath, and fell into unrestrainable
revolt. They ran to the churches, to the market-places, and even to the palace
of the emperor, and with howls and groans demanded the recall of John. The
empress was at length overcome by their importunity; and she persuaded her
husband to yield to the wishes of the people. She quickly sent a eunuch, named
Briso, in whom she placed confidence, to bring back John from Prenetus, a city
of Bithynia; and protested that she had taken no part in the machinations that
had been carded on against him, but had, on the contrary, always respected
him as a priest and the initiator of her children.

When John, on his journey homeward, reached the suburbs belonging to the empress,
he stopped near Anaplus; and refused to re-enter the city until the injustice
of his deposition had been recognized by a larger synod of bishops; but as
this refusal tended to augment the popular excitement, and led to many public
declamations against the emperor and the empress, he allowed himself to be
persuaded to enter the city. The people went to meet him, singing psalms composed
with reference to the circumstances; many carried light wax tapers. They conducted
him to the church; and although he refused, and frequently affirmed that those
who had condemned him ought first to reconsider their vote, yet they compelled
him to take the episcopal throne, and to speak peace to the people according
to the custom of the priests. He then delivered an extemporaneous discourse,
in which, by a pleasing figure of speech, he declared that Theophilus had meditated
an injury against his church, even as the king of Egypt had contemplated the
violation of Sarah, the wife of the patriarch Abraham, which is recorded in
the books of the Hebrews: he then proceeded to commend the zeal of the people,
and to extol the emperor and the empress for their good will to him; he stirred
the people to much applause and good acclaim for the emperor and his spouse,
so that he had to leave his speech half ended.

CHAP. XIX.--OBSTINANCY OF THEOPHILUS. ENMITY BETWEEN THE EGYPTIANS AND THE
CITIZENS OF CONSTANTINOPLE. FLIGHT OF THEOPHILUS. NILAMMON THE ASCETIC. THE
SYNOD CONCERNING JOHN.

ALTHOUGH
Theophilus would fain have brought an accusation against John,(1) under the
plea that he had
unlawfully
reinstated himself in his bishopric,
yet he was deterred from doing so by the fear of offending the emperor, who
had been compelled to recall John, as the means of suppressing the popular
insurrection. Theophilus, however, received an accusation against Heraclides
during the absence of the accused, in the hope of thereby authorizing the sentence
of condemnation which had been issued against John. But the friends of Heraclides
interposed, and declared that it was unjust, and contrary to ecclesiastical
law, to condemn one who was absent. Theophilus and his partisans maintained
the opposite side of the question: the people of Alexandria and of Egypt sided
with them, and were opposed by the citizens of Constantinople. The strife between
the two parties became so vehement that bloodshed ensued; many were wounded,
and others slain in the contest. Severian, and all the bishops at Constantinople
who did not support the cause of John, became apprehensive for their personal
safety, and quitted the city in haste. Theophilus, also, fled the city at the
commencement of the winter; and, in company with Isaac the monk, sailed for
Alexandria. A wind arose which drove the vessel to Gera, a small city about
fifty stadia from Pelusium. The bishop of this city died, and the inhabitants,
I have been informed, elected Nilammon to preside over their church; he was
a good man, and had attained the summit of monastic philosophy. He dwelt without
the city, in a cell of which the door was built up with stones. He refused
to accept the dignity of the priesthood; and Theophilus, therefore, visited
him in person, to exhort him to receive ordination at his hands. Nilammon repeatedly
refused the honor; but, as Theophilus would take no refusal, he said to him, "'To-morrow,
my father, you shall act as you please; to-day it is requisite that I should
arrange my affairs." Theophilus repaired, on the following day, to the
cell of the monk, and commanded the door to be opened; but Nilammon exclaimed, "Let
us first engage in prayer." Theophilus complied and began to pray. Nilammon
likewise prayed within his cell, and in the act of prayer he expired. Theophilus,
and those who were standing with him without the cell, knew nothing at the
time of what had occurred; but, when the greater part of the day had passed
away, and the name of Nilammon had been loudly reiterated without his returning
any answer, the stones were removed from the door, and the monk was found dead.
They honored him with a public burial after they had clothed him in the necessary
vestments, and the inhabitants built a house of prayer about his tomb; and
they celebrate the day of his death, in a very marked way, until this day.
Thus died Nilammon, if it can be called death to quit this life for another,--rather
than accept a bishopric of which, with extraordinary modesty, he considered
himself unworthy.

After
his return to Constantinople, John appeared to be more than ever beloved
by the people. Sixty bishops assembled
together in that city, and annulled
all the decrees of the council of "The Oak." They confirmed John
in the possession of the bishopric, and enacted that he should officiate as
a priest, confer ordination, and perform all the duties of the church usually
devolving on the president. At this time Serapion was appointed bishop of Heraclea
in Thrace.

CHAP. XX.--THE STATUE OF THE EMPRESS; WHAT HAPPENED THERE; THE TEACHING OF
JOHN; CONVOCATION OF ANOTHER SYNOD AGAINST JOHN; HIS DEPOSITION.

NOT long
after these occurrences the silver statue of the empress, which is still
to be seen to the south
of the church opposite the grand council-chamber,
was placed upon a column of porphyry on a high platform,(1) and the event was
celebrated there with applause and popular spectacles of dances and mimes,
as was then customary on the erection of the statues of the emperors. In a
public discourse to the people John charged that these proceedings reflected
dishonor on the Church. This remark recalled former grievances to the recollection
of the empress, and irritated her so exceedingly at the insult that she determined
to convene another council. He did not yield, but added fuel to her indignation
by still more openly declaiming, against her in the church; and it was at this
period that he pronounced the memorable discourse commencing with the words, "Herodias
is again enraged; again she dances; again she seeks to have the head of John
in a basin."

Several
bishops arrived soon after at Constantinople, and amongst them were Leontius,
bishop of Ancyra,
and
Acacius, bishop of Berea. The festival of our
Lord's Nativity was then at hand, and the emperor, instead of repairing to
the church as usual, sent to acquaint John that he could not hold communion
with him until he had cleared himself of the charges. John spiritedly replied
that he was ready to prove his innocence; and this so intimidated his accusers
that they did not dare to follow up the charges. The judges decided that, having
been once deposed, he ought not to be admitted to a second trial. But they
called on John to defend himself on this point only, that after he had been
deposed, he had sat on the episcopal throne before a synod had reinstated him.
In his defense he appealed to the decision of the bishops who had, subsequently
to the council of "The Oak," held communion with him. The judges
waived this argument, under the plea that those who had held communion with
John were inferior in point of number to those who had deposed him, and that
a canon was in force by which he stood condemned. Under this pretext they therefore
deposed him, although the law in question had been enacted by heretics; for
the Arians, after having taken advantage of various calumnies to expel Athanasius
from the church of Alexandria, enacted this law from the apprehension of a
change in public affairs, for they struggled to have the decisions against
him remain uninvestigated.

CHAP. XXI.--CALAMITIES SUFFERED BY THE PEOPLE AFTER THE EXPULSION OF JOHN.
THE PLOTS AGAINST HIM OF ASSASSINATION.

AFTER his deposition, John held no more assemblies in the church, but quietly
remained in the episcopal dwelling-house.(2) At the termination of the season
of Quadragesima, on the same holy night in which the yearly festival in commemoration
of the resurrection of Christ is celebrated, the followers of John were expelled
from the church by the soldiers and his enemies, who attacked the people while
still celebrating the mysteries. Since this occurrence was unforeseen, a great
disturbance arose in the baptistery. The women wept and lamented, and the children
screamed; the priests and the deacons were beaten, and were forcibly ejected
from the church, in the priestly garments in which they had been officiating.
They were charged with the commission of such disorderly acts as can be readily
conceived by those who have been admitted to the mysteries, but which I consider
it requisite to pass over in silence, lest my work should fall into the hands
of the uninitiated.

When the people perceived the plot, they did not use the church on the following
day, but celebrated the Paschal feast in the very spacious public baths called
after the Emperor Constantius. Bishops and presbyters, and the rest, whose
right it is to administer church matters, officiated. Those who espoused the
cause of John were present with the people. They were, however, driven hence,
and then assembled on a spot without the walls of the city, which the Emperor
Constantine, before the city had been built, had caused to be cleared and inclosed
with palisades, for the purpose of celebrating there the games of the hippodrome.
From that period, the people held separate assemblies, sometimes, whenever
it was feasible, in that locality, and sometimes in another. They obtained
the name of Johnites. About this time, a man who was either possessed of a
devil, or who feigned to have one, was seized, having a poniard on his person,
with the intention of assassinating John. He was apprehended by the people
as one who had been hired for this plot, and led to the prefect; but John sent
some bishops of his party to free him from custody before he had been questioned
by torture. Some time afterwards, a slave of Elpidius the presbyter, who was
an avowed enemy of the deacon, was seen running as swiftly as possible towards
the episcopal residence. A passer-by endeavored to stop him, in order to ascertain
the cause of so much haste; but instead of answering him, the slave plunged
his poniard into him. Another person, who happened to be standing by, and who
cried out at seeing the other wounded, was also wounded in a similar way by
the slave; as was likewise a third bystander. All the people in the neighborhood,
on seeing what had occurred, shouted that the slave ought to be arrested. He
turned and fled. When those who were pursuing called out to those ahead to
seize the fugitive, a man, who just then came out from the baths, strove to
stop him, and was so grievously wounded that he fell down dead on the spot.
At length, the people contrived to encircle the slave. They seized him, and
conveyed him to the palace of the emperor, declaring that he had intended to
have assassinated John, and that the crime ought: to be visited with punishment.
The prefect, allayed the fury of the people by putting the delinquent into
custody, and by assuring them that justice should have its course against him.

CHAP. XXII.--UNLAWFUL EXPULSION OF JOHN FROM HIS BISHOPRIC. THE TROUBLE WHICH
FOLLOWED. CONFLAGRATION OF THE CHURCH BY FIRE FROM HEAVEN. EXILE OF JOHN TO
CUCUSUS.

FROM this period the most zealous of the people guarded John alternately,
stationing themselves about the episcopal residence by night and by day.(1)
The bishops who had condemned him complained of this conduct as a violation
of the laws of the Church, declared that they could answer for the justice
of the sentence that had been enacted against him, and asserted that tranquillity
would never be restored among the people until he had been expelled from the
city. A messenger having conveyed to him a mandate from the emperor enjoining
his immediate departure, John obeyed, and escaped from the city, unnoticed
by those who had been appointed to guard him. He made no other censure than
that, in being sent into banishment without a legal trial or any of the forms
of the law, he was treated more severely than murderers, sorcerers, and adulterers.
He was conveyed in a little bark to Bithynia, and thence immediately continued
his journey. Some of his enemies were apprehensive lest the people, on hearing
of his departure, should pursue him, and bring him back by force, and therefore
commanded the gates of the church to be closed. When the people who were in
the public places of the city heard of what had occurred, great confusion ensued;
for some ran to the seashore as if they would follow him, and others fled hither
and thither, and were in great terror since the wrath of the emperor was expected
to visit them for creating so much disturbance and tumult. Those who were within
the church barred the exits still further by rushing together upon them, and
by pressing upon one another. With difficulty they forced the doors open by
the use of great violence; one party shattered them with stones, another was
pulling them toward themselves, and was thus forcing the crowd backward into
the building. Meanwhile the church was suddenly consumed on all sides with
fire. The flames extended in all directions, and the grand house of the senatorial
council, adjacent to the church on the south, was doomed. The two parties mutually
accused each other of incendiarism. The enemies of John asserted that his partisans
had been guilty of the deed from revenge, on account of the vote that had been
passed against him by the council. These latter, on the other hand, maintained
that they had been calumniated, and that the deed was perpetrated by their
enemies, with the intention of burning them in the church. While the fire was
spreading from late afternoon until the morning, and creeping forward to the
material which was still standing, the officers who held John in custody conveyed
him to Cucusus, a city of Armenia, which the emperor by letter had appointed
as the place of residence for the condemned man. Other officers were commissioned
to arrest all the bishops and clerics who had favored the cause of John, and
to imprison them in Chalcedon. Those citizens who were suspected of attachment
to John were sought out and cast into prison, and compelled to pronounce anathema
against him.

CHAP. XXIII.--ARSACIUS ELECTED TO SUCCEED JOHN. THE EVILS WROUGHT AGAINST
THE FOLLOWERS OF JOHN. ST. NICARETE.

ARSACIUS, brother of Nectarius, who had administered the bishopric before
John, was, not long afterwards, ordained as bishop of Constantinople.(2) He
was of a very mild disposition, and possessed of great piety; but the reputation
he had acquired as a presbyter was diminished by the conduct of some of the
clergy to whom he delegated his power, and who did what they pleased in his
name; for their evil deeds were imputed to him. Nothing, however, operated
so much to his disadvantage as the persecution that was carried on against
the followers of John. They refused to hold communion, or even to join in prayer
with him, because the enemies of John were associated with him; and as they
persisted, as we have before stated, in holding a church in the further parts
of the city, he complained to the emperor of their conduct. The tribune was
commanded to attack them with a body of soldiers, and by means of clubs and
stones he soon dispersed them. The most distinguished among them in point of
rank, and those who were most zealous in their adherence to John, were cast
into prison. The soldiers as is usual on such occasions, went beyond their
orders, and forcibly stripped the women of their ornaments, and carried off
as booty their chains, their golden girdles, necklaces, and their collars of
rings; they pulled off the lobes of the ear with the earrings. Although the
whole city was thus filled with trouble and lamentation, the affection of the
people for John still remained the same, and they refrained from appearing
in public. Many of them absented themselves from the market-place and public
baths, while others, not considering themselves safe in their own houses, fled
the city.

Among the zealous men and excellent women who adopted this latter measure
was Nicarete, a lady of Bithynia. She belonged to a noted family of the nobility,
and was celebrated on account of her perpetual virginity and her virtuous life.
She was the most modest of all the zealous women that we have ever known, and
was well ordered in manner and speech and in behavior, and throughout her life
she invariably preferred the service of God to all earthly considerations.
She showed herself capable of enduring with courage and thought the sudden
reversals of adverse affairs; she saw herself unjustly despoiled of the greater
part of her ample patrimony without manifesting any indignation, and managed
the little that remained to her with so much economy, that although she was
advanced in age, she contrived to supply all the wants of her household, and
to contribute largely to others. Since she loved a humane spirit, she also
prepared a variety of remedies for the needs of the sick poor, and she frequently
succeeded in curing patients who had derived no benefit from the skill of the
customary physicians. With a devout strength which assisted her in reaching
the best results, she closed her lips. To sum up all in a few words, we have
never known a devoted woman endowed with such manners, gravity, and every other
virtue. Although she was so extraordinary, she concealed the greater part of
her nature and deeds; for by modesty of character and philosophy she was always
studious of concealment. She would not accept of the office of deaconess, nor
of instructress of the virgins consecrated to the service of the Church, because
she accounted herself unworthy, although the honor was frequently pressed upon
her by John.

After the popular insurrection had been quelled, the prefect of the city appeared
in public, as if to inquire into the cause of the conflagration, and the burning
of the council-hall, and punished many severely; but being a pagan, he ridiculed
the calamities of the Church, and delighted in its misfortunes.

CHAP. XXIV.--EUTROPIUS THE READER, AND THE BLESSED OLYMPIAN, AND THE PRESBYTER
TIGRIUS, ARE PERSECUTED ON ACCOUNT OF THEIR ATTACHMENT TO JOHN. THE PATRIARCHS.

EUTROPIUS, a reader,(1) was required to name the persons who had set fire
to the church; but although he was scourged severely, although his sides and
cheeks were torn with iron nails, and although lighted torches were applied
to the most sensitive parts of his body, no confession could be extorted from
him, notwithstanding his youth and delicacy of constitution. After having been
subjected to these tortures, he was cast into a dungeon, where he soon afterwards
expired.

A dream of Sisinius concerning Eutropius seems worthy of insertion in this
history. Sisinius, the bishop of the Novatians, saw in his sleep a man, conspicuous
for beauty and stature, standing near the altar of the church which the Novatians
erected to the honor of Stephen, the proto-martyr; the man complained of the
rarity of good men, and said that he had been searching throughout the entire
city, and had found but one who was good, and that one was Eutropius. Astonished
at what he had seen, Sisinius made known the dream to the most faithful of
the presbyters of his church, and commanded him to seek Eutropius wherever
he might be. The presbyter rightly conjectured that this Eutropius could be
no other than he who had been so barbarously tortured by the prefect, and went
from prison to prison in quest of him. At length he found him, and in conversation
with him made known the dream of the bishop, and besought him with tears to
pray for him. SUch are the details we possess concerning Eutropius.

Great
fortitude was evinced in the midst of these calamities by Olympias, the deaconess.
Being dragged
for
this reason before the tribunal, and interrogated
by the prefect as to her motives in setting fire to the church, she replied, "My
past life ought to avert all suspicion from me, for I have devoted my large
property to the restoration of the temples of God." The prefect alleged
that he was well acquainted with her past course of life. "Then," continued
she, "you ought to appear in the place of the accuser and let another
judge us." As the accusation against her was wholly unsubstantiated by
proofs, and as the prefect found that he had no ground on which he could justly
blame her, he changed to a milder charge as if desirous of advising her, finding
fault with her and the otherwomen, because they refused communion with his
bishop, although it was possible for them to repent and to change their own
circumstances. They all through fear deferred to the advice of the prefect,
but Olympias said to him, "It is not just that, after having been publicly
calumniated, without having had anything proved against me in the courts, I
should be obliged to clear myself of charges totally unconnected with the accusation
in question. Let me rather take counsel concerning the original accusation
that has been preferred against me. For even if you resort to unlawful compulsion,
I will not hold communion with those from whom I ought to secede, nor consent
to anything that is not lawful to the pious." The prefect, finding that
he could not prevail upon her to hold communion with Arsacius, dismissed her
that she might consult the advocates. On another occasion, however, he again
sent for her and condemned her to pay a heavy fine, for he imagined by this
means she would be compelled to change her mind. But she totally disregarded
the loss of her property, and quitter Constantinople for Cyzicus. Tigrius,
a presbyter, was about the same period stripped of his clothes, scourged on
the back, bound hand and foot, and stretched on the rack. He was a barbarian
by race, and a eunuch, but not by birth. He was originally a slave in the house
of a man in power, and on account of his faithful services had obtained his
freedom. He was afterwards ordained as presbyter, and was distinguished by
his moderation and meekness of disposition, and by his charity towards strangers
and the poor. Such were the events which took place in Constantinople.

Meanwhile Siricius had died, after having administered the bishopric of Rome
fifteen years. Anastasius held the same bishopric three years, and then died,
and was succeeded by Innocent. Flavian, who refused his consent to the deposition
of John, was also dead; and Porphyry, being appointed to succeed him in the
church of Antioch, where he agreed with those who had condemned John, many
of those in Syria seceded from the church in Antioch, and because they made
congregations among themselves, they were subjected to many cruelties. For
the purpose of enforcing fellowship with Arsacius, and with this Porphyry and
Theophilus, the bishop of Alexandria, a law was established, by the zeal of
the powerful at court, that those who were orthodox should not assemble outside
of the churches, and those who were not in communion with them should be expelled.

CHAP. XXV.--SINCE THESE ILLS EXISTED IN THE CHURCH, SECULAR AFFAIRS ALSO FELL
INTO DISORDER. THE AFFAIRS OF STILICHO, THE GENERAL OF HONORIUS.

ABOUT this period(1) the dissensions by which the Church was agitated were
followed, as is frequently the case, by disturbances and commotions in the
state. The Huns crossed the Ister and devastated Thrace. The robbers in Isauria
gathered in great numbers and ravaged cities and villages as far as Caria and
Phoenicia. Stilicho, the general of Honorius, a man who had attained great
power, if any one ever did, and had under his sway the flower of the Roman
and of the barbarian soldiery, conceived feelings of enmity against the rulers
who held office under Arcadius, and determined to set the two empires at enmity
with each other. He caused Alaric, the leader of the Goths, to be appointed
by Honorius to the office of general of the Roman troops, and sent him into
Illyria; whither also he dispatched Jovius, the praetorian prefect, and promised
to join them there with the Roman soldiers in order to add that province to
the dominions of Honorius. Alaric marched at the head of his troops from the
barbarous regions bordering on Dalmatia and Pannonia, and came to Epirus; and
after waiting for some time there, he returned to Italy. Stilicho was prevented
from fulfilling his agreement to join Alaric, by some letters which were transmitted
to him from Honorius. These events happened in the manner narrated.

CHAP. XXVI.--TWO EPISTLES FROM INNOCENT, THE POPE OF ROME, OF WHICH ONE WAS
ADDRESSED TO JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, AND THE OTHER TO THE CLERGY OF CONSTANTINOPLE
CONCERNING JOHN.

INNOCENT,(2) bishop of Rome,(3) was extremely indignant when apprised of the
measures that had been adopted against John, and condemned the whole proceedings.
He then turned his attention to the convocation of an oecumenical council,
and wrote to John and to the clergy of Constantinople in part. Subjoined are
the two letters, precisely as I found them, translated from the Latin into
Greek.

"Innocent,
to the beloved brother John.

"Although
one conscious of his own innocence ought to expect every blessing and to
ask for mercy
from
God, yet it seems well to us to send you a befitting
letter by Cyriacus, the deacon, and to counsel you to long-suffering, lest
the contumely cast upon you should have more power in subduing your courage
than the testimony of a good conscience in encouraging you to hope. It is not
requisite to teach you, who are the teacher and pastor of so great a people,
that God always tries the best of men to see whether they will continue in
the height of patience, and will not give way to any labor of suffering; and
how true it is that the conscience is a firm thing against all that befalls
us unjustly, and unless one be moved in these misfortunes by patience, he furnishes
a ground for evil surmising. For he ought to endure everything, who first trusts
in God, and then in his own conscience. Especially when an excellent and good
man can exercise himself in endurance, he cannot be overcome; for the Holy
Scriptures guard his thoughts, and the devout lections, which we expound to
the people, abound in examples. These Scriptures assure us that almost all
the saints are variously and continuously afflicted, and are tested by some
investigation, and so have come to the crown of patience. Let thy conscience
encourage thy love, O most honored brother; for that faculty amid tribulations
possesses an encouragement for virtue. For since Christ, the Master, is observing,
the purified conscience will station you in the haven of peace."

"Innocent,
the bishop, to the presbyters, deacons, and all the clergy, and to the people
of the
church
of Constantinople under John, the bishop, greeting
to you, beloved brethren.

"From
the letters of your love that you forwarded to me through Germanus, the presbyter,
and
Cassianus,
the deacon, I have learned, with anxious solicitude,
the scenes of evil which you have placed before our eyes. I have frequently
seen during its repeated reading with what calamities and labors the faith
is wearied. Only the consolation of patience heals such a state of affairs.
Our God will shortly put an end to such tribulations, and they will eventually
tend to your profit. But we recognized with approbation your proposition, placed
at the beginning of the letter of your love; to wit, that this very consolation
is necessary, and embraces many proofs of your patience; for our consolation,
which we ought to have conveyed, you have anticipated in your epistle. Our
Lord is wont to furnish this patience to the suffering, in order that when
they fall into tribulations, the servants of Christ may encourage themselves;
for they should reason within themselves that what they suffer has happened
previously to the saints. And even we ourselves derive comfort from your letters,
for we are not strangers to your sufferings; but we are disciplined in you.
Who, indeed, can endure to witness the errors introduced by those who were
bound especially to be enthusiasts for the quiet of peace and for its concord?
But far from maintaining peace, they expel guiltless priests from the front
seat of their own churches. John, our brother and fellow-minister and your
bishop, has been the first to suffer this unjust treatment without being allowed
a hearing. No accusation was brought, none was heard. What proposition was
it that was nullified, so that no show of judgment might arise or be sought?
Others were seated in the places of living priests, as though any who began
from such discord would be able to possess anything or do anything rightly
in any one's judgment. We have never known such audacities to have been done
by our fathers. They rather prohibited such innovations by refusing to give
power to any one to be ordained in another's place while the occupant was living,
since he is unable to be a bishop who is unjustly substituted.

"With
respect to the observance of canons, we declare that those defined at Nicaea
are alone(1)
entitled
to the obedience and recognition of the Catholic
Church. If any individuals should attempt to introduce other canons, at variance
with those of Nicaea, and such as are a compilation by heretics, such canons
ought to be rejected by the Catholic Church, for it is not lawful to add the
inventions of heretics to the Catholic canons. For they always wish to belittle
the decision of the Nicene fathers through opponents and lawless men. We say,
then, that the canons we have censured are not only to be disregarded, but
to be condemned with the dogmas of heretics and schismatics, even as they have
been formerly condemned at the council of Sardica by the bishops who were our
predecessors. For it would be better, O most honored brethren, that these transactions
be condemned, than that any actions should be confirmed contrary to the canons.

"What
measures ought we to adopt now in the present circumstances against such
deeds? It is necessary
that there be a synodical investigation, and a
synod we long ago said should be gathered. There are no other means of arresting
the fury of the tempest. In order that we may attain this it will be profitable
meanwhile for that healing to be exalted which comes by the will of the great
God and of His Christ, our Lord. We shall thus behold the cessation of all
the woes which have been excited by the envy of the devil, and which have served
as trials for our faith. If we remain steadfast in the faith, there is nothing
that we ought not to expect from the Lord. We are constantly watching for the
opportunity of convening an oecumenical council, whereby, in accordance with
the will of God, an end may be put to these harassing commotions. Let us, then,
endure in the interval, and, fortified by the wall of patience, let us trust
in the help of our God for the restoration of all things.

"We
had previously been made acquainted with all that you have related concerning
your trials,
by our
fellow-bishops Demetrius, Cyriacus, Eulysius,
and Palladius, who visited Rome at different periods and are now with us; from
them we had learned all the details by a complete inquiry."

CHAP. XXVII.--THE TERRIBLE EVENTS WHICH RESULTED FROM THE TREATMENT OF JOHN.
DEATH OF THE EMPRESS EUDOXIA. DEATH OF ARSACIUS. AND FURTHER CONCERNING ATTICUS,
THE PATRIARCH, HIS BIRTHPLACE, AND CHARACTER.

SUCH were the letters of Innocent from which the opinion which he entertained
of John may readily be inferred. About the same period some hailstones of extraordinary
magnitude fell at Constantinople and in the suburbs of the city.(1) Four days
afterwards, the wife of the emperor died. These occurrences were by many regarded
as indications of Divine wrath on account of the persecution that had been
carried on against John. For Cyrinus, bishop of Chalcedon, one of his principal
calumniators, had long previously terminated his life in the midst of great
bodily agony, arising from the accident that had occurred to his foot, and
the consequent necessary amputation of the leg by the physicians. Arsacius,
too, died after he had presided but a very short period over the church of
Constantinople. Many candidates were proposed as his successor; and four months
after his decease, Atticus, a presbyter, of the clergy of Constantinople, and
one of the enemies of John, was ordained. He was a native of Sebaste in Armenia.
He had been instructed from his youth in the principles of monastic philosophy
by monks of the Macedonian heresy. These monks, who then enjoyed a very high
reputation at Sebaste for philosophy, were of the discipline of Eustathius,
to whom allusion has been already made as bishop there, and a leader of the
best monks. When Atticus attained the age of manhood, he embraced the tenets
of the Catholic Church. He possessed more by nature than by learning, and became
a participant in affairs, and was as skillful in carrying on intrigues as in
evading the machinations of others. He was of a very engaging disposition,
and was beloved by many. The discourses which he delivered in the church did
not rise above mediocrity; and although not totally devoid of erudition, they
were not accounted by his auditors of sufficient value to be preserved in writing.
Being intent, if an opportunity offered itself anywhere, he exercised himself
in the most approved Greek authors; but lest, in conversation about these writers,
he might appear unlettered, he frequently concealed what he did know. It is
said that he manifested much zeal in behalf of those who entertained the same
sentiments as himself, and that he rendered himself formidable to the heterodox.
When he wished he could easily throw them into alarm; but he at once transformed
himself and would appear meek. Such is the information which those who knew
the man have furnished.

John acquired great celebrity even in his exile. He possessed ample pecuniary
resources, and being besides liberally supplied with money by Olympias, the
deaconess, and others, he purchased the liberty of many captives from the Isaurian
robbers, and restored them to their families. He also administered to the necessities
of many who were in want; and by his kind words comforted those who did not
stand in need of money. Hence he was exceedingly beloved not only in Armenia,
where he dwelt, but by all the people of the neighboring countries, and the
inhabitants of Antioch and of the other parts of Syria, and of Cilicia, who
frequently sought his society.

CHAP. XXVIII.--EFFORT OF INNOCENT, BISHOP OF ROME, TO RECALL JOHN THROUGH
A COUNCIL. CONCERNING THOSE WHO WERE SENT BY HIM TO MAKE TRIAL OF THE MATTER.
THE DEATH OF JOHN CHRYSOSTOM.

INNOCENT, bishop of Rome, was very anxious, as appears by his former letter,
to procure the recall of John.(2) He sent five bishops and two presbyters of
the Roman church, with the bishops who had been delegated as ambassadors to
him from the East, to the emperors Honorius and Arcadius, to request the convocation
of a council, and solicit them to name time and place. The enemies of John
at Constantinople framed a charge as though these things were done to insult
the Eastern emperor, and caused the ambassadors to be ignominiously dismissed
as if they had invaded a foreign government. John was at the same time condemned
by an imperial edict to a remoter place of banishment, and soldiers were sent
to conduct him to Pityus; the soldiers were soon on hand, and effected the
removal. It is said that during this journey, Basiliscus, the martyr, appeared
to him at Comani, in Armenia, and apprised him of the day of his death. Being
attacked with pain in the head, and being unable to bear the heat of the sun,
he could not prosecute his journey, but closed his life in that town.